Gaddafi: I sold guns to anyone with money – Orji Kalu
By Tolulope Oke
Former Abia State Governor and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has revealed details of his past involvement in international arms trading, saying he sold weapons to anyone who had the money to buy them.
Kalu made the disclosure during an interview on Arise News, where he spoke about his business activities outside Nigeria and his relationships with prominent African leaders.
The senator, who represents Abia North, was specifically asked whether he had supplied weapons to former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Responding, Kalu said, “To anybody that has money to buy, when I was selling.”
He also described the late Libyan leader as “a good man,” adding, “May he rest in peace.”
Speaking further about his involvement in the arms business, Kalu acknowledged that he had traded in weapons across different countries.
When asked directly whether he was an arms dealer, the former governor answered, “Yes.”
He explained that his primary motivation for selling weapons was financial gain, insisting that what buyers eventually did with the weapons was not his concern.
“I was selling guns to make money. Whether they blow [up] people was not my business,” he stated.
The former governor also addressed questions about whether he supplied arms to the African National Congress during its struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
Rather than identifying the organisation as a particular customer, he maintained that his business was open to anyone willing to purchase weapons.
“No, I was selling to anybody who wants to buy,” Orji Kalu said.
However, the senator disclosed that his involvement in the arms trade eventually ended following pressure from his parents.
“My mother and my father came and said I must stop, and I stopped,” he explained.
Asked to identify the sources of the weapons he traded and the people who supplied them, Kalu declined to provide details, describing the information as his private business.
His comments came while recounting his business activities and longstanding relationships with several African political figures, including former South African presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma.